Comment So... Your Comma Splice (Score 1) 605
You wrote, "It is a 3rd year course, so students...". That should be either, "...course, and so..." or "...course; so...".
Comment Re:Look for an option from your credit card compan (Score 1) 242
I use Discover's Secure Online Account Numbers all over the place. They are only good for the first merchant to charge them, and that merchant can charge indefinitely. You can cancel a single number any time. Charges go to your regular Discover account.
I found them to be a problem on Amazon, because regular purchases come from a "different" merchant than the one that MP3 downloads do and will get declined. So I just have two virtual cards on file and choose the appropriate one.
Better Development Through Competition? 251
theodp writes "Among the tips Derek Sivers offers for how to hire a programmer to make your ideas happen is an intriguing one: hire more than one person to complete your first programming milestone, with the expectation that one will go bad, one will be so-so, and one will be great. 'Yes it means you're paying multiple times for this first milestone,' says Sivers, 'but it's worth it to find a good one.' It's not a new idea — the practice of pitting two different programmers against each other on the same task was noted three decades ago in Tracy Kidder's Soul of a New Machine — but one that never gained widespread acceptance. Should the programming code-off be adopted as a software development best practice?"
